The present disclosure relates to a system for producing beverages which includes controllably dispensing water from the system for use in brewing. The water enters the system through a pressurized line which includes at least a controllable inlet valve.
A variety of brewing devices have been developed and employ a variety of methods and apparatus to introduce water to a heating system and to dispense water from the heating system. For example, one form of brewer includes a rapid heating chamber in which unheated water is introduced into the rapid heating chamber where upon it is rapidly heated and dispensed over ground coffee for producing a brewed beverage.
Another form of brewing system includes a reservoir for retaining a quantity of heated water which is maintained generally at a heated temperature or within a temperature range for use in brewing on demand. In one embodiment of this “on demand brewing system”, water is introduced into a basin which is positioned above the heated water reservoir and communicates with the heated water reservoir. Water flows under force of gravity from the reservoir into the heated water reservoir. Generally, the water is introduced in the bottom of the reservoir where it might otherwise settle due to the temperature differential. Generally, when water is introduced into the heated water reservoir it displaces a quantity of heated water which is then dispensed through an outlet, a dispensing or spray line onto ground coffee for producing a brewed coffee beverage. The flow of water into and out of the heated water reservoir is controlled by the volume and gravity or head pressure of the water in the basin.
Another embodiment of the brewing device incorporates the heated water reservoir as described above and a pressurized inlet line. The pressurized inlet line introduces water directly into the heated water reservoir whereupon it pressurizes or displaces water from the reservoir. An outlet line extending from the reservoir to a quantity of ground coffee is used to dispense water over the ground coffee. In order to control the dispensing of water over the ground coffee a controllable dispensing valve is provided on the outlet line. The control valve on the outlet line reduces or prevents dripping of water which might otherwise be caused as a result of the thermal expansion when heating the unheated water which was introduced into the reservoir during the brew cycle.
It may be desirable to provide a system which is attached to a pressurized line or “plumbed” into a pressurized water line. This is desirable in settings so as to avoid having to manually dispense a quantity of water and pour it into a basin such as described above. It is useful to have a plumbed water connection in settings such as institutional settings, office coffee service settings and other environments such as cafeterias to allow an operator to load the machine with coffee, press a button to start a brewing process and obtain fresh brewed coffee. A system attached to a pressurized line may also incorporate a basin as described above. The basin may be used as an option to the pressurized water line or in combination with the pressurized water line. In the combined embodiment the pressurized line may dispense water into the basin for dispensing into the heated water reservoir.
One of the issues associated with a pressurized system is that it requires the controllable outlet valve as described above. The controllable outlet valve, while performing well under most circumstances, requires additional work in order to address issues associated with lime buildup in the outlet line. In this regard, lime or other mineral deposits tend to accumulate or accrete on the inside of the heated water system. This action and accumulation tends to be accelerated in heated areas of the system and lines transporting hot water such as the outlet tube. While this material can be removed, it may tend to clog and otherwise interfere with the operation of the outlet valve. Additionally, the outlet line can only be easily cleaned from the spray head or outlet nozzle up to the controllable valve because the controllable valve will not accept a cleaning device such as a spring or other cleaning coil or brush. As such, in these prior art devices, it is more difficult and time consuming to remove lime or other mineral deposits in the heated water system.
Additional features and embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of drawings.
The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the disclosure that is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.